3- Destroy Your Soul

Name: Yuujirou Hanma

Title: The Ogre, The Strongest, Demon, Strongest Creature on Earth.

Age: 37

Plane: ???

Location: Mindscape

Again, again, again and again, he almost lost count of how many times he killed the pest.

No, perhaps calling that Fat Fuck a pest is not completely right, at least not now.

The boy is pathetic, weak in both body and mind, someone he wouldn't bother to even kill, simply because people like him don't deserve to be so much as acknowledged.

But... The boy surprised him.

Here, in this place, he couldn't simply kill the boy and be done with it, no, he can punch, break, and even rip him apart but in the end, nothing would stick.

Surprisingly he discovered the why only due to the boy's mind, something related to his blood must have changed something because it was ridiculously easy for him to hear the boy's thoughts.

And what thoughts they were.

A jumbled mess of guesses, theories, and everything else blended together.

During the first five times, he simply killed the boy, getting angrier and angrier after each time he came back.

Each weaker than the last.

He is no idiot, impulsive? Yes, an idiot? No.

So he stopped, calmed himself down, and decided to wait.

The next time the boy came back he sat behind him and just observed for a time, attentive to what he'd do.

Nothing abnormal happened up until he concentrated more, trying to see through his soul, and to his surprise, he started hearing the boy's thoughts.

Through them, he was able to pierce together what had happened.

After his plan worked his blood started to consume the boy from the inside, in turn, connecting them for lack of a better term.

This white space is more likely than not, the boy's mind.

It was then that he understood, he wasn't here to kill the boy, he was here to kill his mind, to make him give up and take his body for himself.

If one loses their will then they die in the most profound sense.

And when the boy became an empty husk, he'd fill the void.

The realization made him ecstatic, that weird energy surrounding him in that world could only be described as insane, the power behind it eclipsed his own by orders of magnitude.

And that, above anything else, excited him.

The enemies, he'd find in that world, creatures even stronger than him capable of actually putting up a fight, maybe even killing him! Their numbers would be great he was sure of it!

The feeling of a good fight, of struggling towards the top, of death coming near, something he only felt in his earlier days, and then on his fight against his son after years of only disappointment, those feelings...

Despite the humiliation of being weaker, Those wonderful sensations WOULD ALL BE BACK!

It was somewhat of a paradox, he hated being weaker but loved the path to becoming the strongest.

In the past the only thing he was able to do to alleviate the depression boredom was to kill some animals and mock some world champions, even then those things didn't bring excitement or happiness.

They only brought temporary amusement.

But here? Now? He had the chance to change it all! To go through the adventure of reaching the top all over again!

And so, with renewed vigor, he went ahead and started massacring the boy, doing anything and everything to break him.

Only to fail, each and Every. Single. Time.

He ripped the boy in half, tortured him, killed him both quickly and slowly, humiliated him with both his words and his fists, he tried it all, and he means all.

It never worked, helpless as he was he always fought back, weak as he was he never relented, even if he broke his own fists by punching him the pest just sucked it up and kept attacking.

Had he felt any despair it would have been funny, entertaining even, but no, the little shit only felt hate while breaking his own fists by punching the strongest creature alive.

Worst of all? The bastard always came back.

It was a weird sensation, before all he needed to do to solve a problem was punch things, kill things, threaten things, and in the blink of an eye, he'd have what he wanted.

In the material world, he'd just have slapped the boy once and forget about him while walking away, not even bothering to look at his corpse

But not here, no, here punching, torturing, and killing didn't seem to do much, the bastard even while pissing his pants, kept defying him out of sheer spite.

And no matter how many times he killed him, he always came back, after the first few deaths, he did so tougher than last time too.

Honestly, he thought he'd be angry at the prospect of a cockroach like that Fat Fuck coming back again and again.

He'd thought he'd be enraged at the pest for not knowing his place and just giving up.

He'd thought he'd be furious at being denied, even worse, at not being able to do what he wanted, but no...

Strangely enough, a sensation that had long since only come from battle swelled up inside him.

He felt happiness.

Genuinely happiness.

He despises weak people, people just like the boy as a matter of fact, but... after hearing his thoughts, ridiculous as they may be, pathetic as he is, miserable as he made them be, he couldn't help but approve of them.

It was never weakness he hated, no, he might have forgotten it but now that he thinks about it, he doesn't hate weak people, no, he hates people who insist on being weaker.

For him, it made no sense, people not aiming to be the strongest to be on the top, it never made a lick of sense to him.

How could they not see? How humiliating it is to be below something, below someone, having to live your life limiting yourself at every turn because of the 'consequences' or 'morality'.

No, since the moment he was born Yuujirou Hanma decided he would live as he wanted, hence why he took his mother's milk by force.

Hence why he killed all those men in that war.

Hence why he raped Diane.

Hence why he killed Emi.

Because he felt like it, and the world would not deny him his wishes.

It is as he himself said it.

If you want to do something, do it! If someone says shit about it just kill them and go on with your life! As long as you are powerful none will ever dare oppose you!

It's impossible to do it?! Is it impossible for one man to surpass everything and everyone?! Don't tell me what's impossible! Understand this worm, the only one who decides anything here Is. Me.

That's why he killed, that's why he trained Every. Single. Day, to be the one who decides everything.

Mortals do not fear God and follow his words because they respect him.

They can say they do, they can act like they do.

But no.

They follow God's commandments because they are afraid.

Afraid of God's power, of going to hell.

And that's what he became in the eyes of the sheep, a God.

A being they fear, a being they know they can't defy, a being that is undeniably above them.

A being that decides what is right or what is wrong, what is possible and what is impossible.

And the boy, despite being nothing but an insistent worm understood that, he understood everything.

It is his fault, for accepting those pesky limits, for locking himself in a cage of logic and possibility, not even cogitating ever trying what he saw as impossible.

Only dreaming of doing what he wanted but never having the strength or courage to do it.

Until now that is.

And for that, for the single act of having the balls to fight against him, The Ogre, with the intention to win, knowing full well the gap between them.

Knowing full well the impossibility of the task, not having a lick of arrogance or delusion about what would happen, scared out of his life, believing full well he could and would stop existing if he lost, almost paralyzed out of fear.

And even still, despite all, he moved forward And. Punched. Him.

One does not simply walk up to Yuujiro Hanma and touch him expecting to live afterward, much less punch him.

And yet, that boy did it. Every. Single. Time.

Oh, he was not impressed, at first, the boy's first 277 deaths were nothing that incredible, he fought yes, but just out of spite, for none other than himself.

He held no hope of winning, the thought of beating the Ogre never crossed his mind.

But that changed, at death 278 the boy started to truly Fight. Back.

Simply because he wanted to win.

Not survive, not live for some seconds longer, not to reject himself, no, he simply and wholeheartedly wanted To. Win.

Taking away the times he killed him too fast for him to react the boy, for more than 270 deaths, even with piss in his pants or a broken body or missing limbs, or crushed bones, in each and every single fight, he did not fail to attack him.

It was enough to shock even him.

He wasn't fearless, if he was Yuujirou wouldn't even pay attention to him, he'd just keep killing the boy over and over.

But no, the boy was almost shitting his pants out of sheer terror and still forced himself to move while feeling a soul-deep terror.

A fear so great the brain itself is incapable of even coming close to it.

Paradoxically, his will was nothing impressive, at the start it was truly nothing, only more than some random hobo drug addict.

Maybe even more but for him, up in the mountain it was difficult to differentiate the size of an two ants on sea level.

But then the first hint of the boy's mind shone through, after truly starting to try to kill his mind the boy's grow became exponential.

From almost nothing, scared to even move in his presence like some helpless deer in headlights he evolved, evolved and evolved some more.

Each death served as a learning experience that while not reminded by the mind was certainly so by the soul.

Each punch, kick, and headbutt serving as a hammer's strike, the boy either resisted and shaped the Self that was his soul into something better, or he broke.

For his amusement, the boy did just that, he grew.

And now he stood there, no longer frozen in place after feeling his killing intent, no longer curling up in a ball of agony each time he lost a limb, no long hesitating for more than a second.

The boy's will grew to perhaps be higher than most ordinary humans by a large margin, but still, it was nothing impressive.

But his spite? That was impressive, so much so the boy's hate may just be equal to that of his son.

Oh, he didn't hate anyone else no, no, no, he hated himself, he hated himself to such a point it fuelled his will to the level where he could force himself to crawl towards the strongest creature while missing both legs just to punch him.

Because giving up and curling up in a ball of agony was something the past him would do, and he hates that man With. A. Passion! To the point he can pass through hell just not to be that same piece of shit in even the mininal of ways again.

Honestly, the boy reminds him of that piece of trash, Ali Jr, but with one key difference that sets both of them apart.

While Ali Jr was an athlete pretending to be a fighter the boy is a pig, slowly becoming a tiger, and a dangerous one at that.

More so, while Ali was a failure who had everything to become great, the boy is a failure who has everything to become worse.

But one who will do everything to become great.

With his spite, fuelling his will, he might just do it.

And so, with that, the boy earned it, not his respect, no, Yuujirou Hanma will never respect a weakling, but his acknowledgment? That he earned.

It is hard, to find good opponents, strong people to contest against, if even with their nuclear armament, armies that numbered in the thousands and with the best that technilogy had to offer Countries failed, what hope did men have?

That's why he had baki, for the boy to grow and challenge him to a true fight.

The boy was little more than a toy for him to amuse himself with, that is, up until that fight .

And what a fight it was, the happiest moments of his life he'd say, to no longer be thirsting for a battle, to no longer be alone at the peak, he loved it.

And that is why he felt pride, pride at having such a wonderful son, happiness at seeing him grow each and every day.

And now, he is feeling something similar to it.

The boy... He might be a weakling, in both body and mind, but he has potential.

If his theories of the workings of the soul and the nature of will are correct then he might not even need his blood to evolve.

And so, happiness enveloped him, for he had found it, someone like Baki, a pig he could grow fat and strong to one day devour.

The rarity, the sheer struggle to find even one person like his son was so great he had to actually have a child to have his desired fight.

And now, a weak little pigling with the potential to become a dragon just appeared in front of him.

The universe... Really does love him, doesn't it? To prepare such a wonderful meal for him to enjoy in the future how could it not?!

Oh, he is aware he is not Yuujirou Hanma, not completely at least, he knows he is a shard, a piece of the Ogre.

He knows he won't be the one to fight the boy, he knows that the boy will have to find a way back to find the 'true' Yuujirou Hanma.

And after 278 deaths he is more than sure the boy will do just that.

It was insane really.

The boy comes back, figures everything out in a matter of minutes, almost shits himself every time he lets his killing intent out and still, Every. Single. Time. With shaking legs, a trembling body, and tears in his eyes, he still walks forward and punches him.

Most of all, he's getting tougher.

No, not stronger, Tougher.

He wasn't using even a thousandth of his strength to kill the boy but he still noticed, from death 6 onwards he stopped getting weaker.

From 9 until now he kept getting tougher and tougher, harder to kill, harder to put down, faster to get up, faster to put himself together, quicker to figure things out, hell his aura couldn't even make him piss himself anymore!

If he acted like this on earth then perhaps he'd be able to be a good appetizer, just like that guy, Doppo Orochi.

For a moment he thought about letting the boy absorb his bloodline, but he refused, not only because he didn't want to hand anything over without a fight but also because the boy, despite being a piece of trash would never accept it.

And while he doesn't respect either his strength or his personality he certainly agrees with his one belief.

That there is no shortcut to power.

Oh you can use tools to run faster no problem but at the end of the day you still have to walk through the path to power.

And contrary to what some fools might think it is not just a test of strength, but also of mind.

That's why training only the body and not the mind would only result in a weakling like Ali Jr.

Talent can be a blessing just as much as a curse.

The boy wanted to suffer through life, to struggle and grow from it until he could take everything and everyone on without flinching.

And so he would, he will suffer in the hands of the Ogre until he is able to walk without a head on his shoulder.

An impossible standard?

No.

There is a history, a true one, of a man, he was a soldier, a commanding officer, one day him and his comrades were captured, they were set to then be executed.

The commanding officer whoever didn't want his men to die, so he made an absurd proposition.

He said, 'Once I am beheaded I will take my head and run, I will run up the line of my captured comrades, I want you to release every one of them I am able to run past before falling.'

His captors, laughing in scorn, agreed.

And so they cut off his head, and to their surprise, the headless corpse took his own decepated head and ran, managing to run past every single one of his comrades before falling.

The man, with will and stubbornness alone, managed to engrave this single command in every single cell of his body.

Mind over matter, the definitive proof the soul has the capacity to affect the body even if it is destroyed or damaged fatally.

He wants to hammer the boy's skull in until he is able to do just that.

As of him? He can do it, but better.

Better to the point where even if he lost his head, he wouldn't die, either for a long time, or perhaps even permanently.

Controlling his muscles to stop the bleeding of the neck wouldn't be hard, his body might move somewhat slower but at the end, he'd most likely survive even that.

Yes, Yujiro Hanma is THAT absurd he is aware of his own insanity despite what the Boy might think.

He hates weaklings that is true, but this boy? He proved himself that despite being weak, he is no weakling.

Weaklings are content with their life, not aspiring to be better, and even if they do they are unable to muster up enough will to go beyond the 'possible' and reach the 'impossible'.

Ther minds are weak, together with their bodies, but even worse, so are their souls.

Infinite power, waiting to be used, and they do nothing with it.

He never thought he'd hate weaklings more than he already did, but apparently he was wrong, very, very wrong.

Because now he wants to do nothing else but go on a rampage and kill every single one of those worms.

In the past he believed they had the excuse of not being Hanmas, of not having his blood, of not being of his line, but now? Now he knows those fuckers are weak only because they choose to be.

Pathetic, no, ever worse than pathetic those vermin give a bad name to the entirety of humanity, killing them would be a mercy.

And that is why he likes the boy because despite being weak in body and mind, his soul is strong.

So much so that he thought of stopping and letting him go, after all, he had died enough times, right?

No.

He had discarded the thought only after a second of consideration.

Because in doing so he would be disrespecting both himself and the boy, the little shit wouldn't quit until he manages to survive by himself.

A ridiculous dream.

He smiled.

But one he might just reach.

So no, he won't release him yet, he will keep killing, maiming, and torturing the boy until he either breaks or becomes a diamond, durable enough to resist even his strongest attacks without dying in the first hit.

From the first death to now 23 hours have passed, he doesn't know if the time in the material world is different but if his calculations are right it will take 7 years at minimum for the boy to reach an acceptable level.

So... 766,500 deaths should do it, to either break him or turn him into a diamo- no, something even tougher than one.

If the former happens he will simply take his body and proceed as always, fighting, killing, fucking, and growing stronger until he reaches the top but... If the latter happens, if the boy impresses him enough then he will let him go.

From there on out, whatever happens, as the boy himself said 'It's completely his own fault.'

Leaving his musings aside he lifted his hand, just in time to block one of the boy's kicks.

His eyes widened.

The attack did not surprise him, no, what did surprise him whoever was the sensation of the hit.

Previously he felt nothing, no matter how hard the boy punched he didn't feel a thing, but now? Now he felt like he poked himself.

A smile formed on his face.

'He's getting stronger.'

It was like having a pet really, a dog, the owner becomes happy seeing his dog grow healthy and strong.

He never had a pet, but he can confidently say the feeling is the same.

Gripping the boy's feet he slammed him on the ground, only to then spin around and throw him away.

Wasting no time he went back to his musings, the boy's soul now falling in slow motion.

Now he understands it, how he did it.

Fighting for fighting's sake, simply because he wants to, simply because he said he'd do it.

For one moment he couldn't understand where this change had come from.

But then, he remembered the boy's last death, the one that made him start to think about everything, to review every second of every thought the boy had, to meticulously analyze every minute detail of his life.

In search of an answer.

.

.

.

.

.

With a determined expression, the boy punched forward with all his pathetic strength.

CRACK!

Only for the Ogre to slap him in the face, the force of the hit was so great it cracked most of his skull.

The boy's soul spun through the air uncontrollably, hitting the ground and tumbling a few times.

After stopping he simply stood there, breathing heavily as the Ogre observed him, the man could have ended the fight right then and there but 200 deaths ago he learned that letting the boy live for longer would make him grow faster.

His agony only strengthened his resolve after all, and so, he let him suffer.

"I don't care... If this is the end."

'Hmn?' Yuujirou thought.

Breathing heavily the boy punched the ground.

[size=0.5em]Crack![/size]

The ogre's eyes widened as the minuscule sound echoed through his ears.

Using both of his arms the boy lifted himself up, the ogre ignored it, opting to continue staring at the ground.

At the precise place where the boy had punched it stood a small, almost unnoticeable crack.

"I won't go down without swinging Ogre."

Yuujirou smiled, it was a wide smile, full of teeth, but still, one that could never express how happy he truly was.

CRACK!

He kicked the boy in the chest, and not a second later, his soul dissipated into motes of light.

.

.

.

.

.

At the time, after killing the boy he asked himself what had just happened, how he managed to crack the ground with his meager strength.

Even after more than 270 deaths that hadn't happened, he went as far as to attack it himself just to know if he could do it.

But no, he didn't even manage to make a dent in the white space.

At the time he was even more confused, but now? Seeing the boy's strength grow like this? He understood what happened.

This place is the boy's mindscape, punching, and kicking these white walls will do nothing, a foreign influence can't break this place, not even crack it.

No, the place itself is the boy's mind so it can only be broken by the boy himself.

Because at the end of the day a person's mind, no matter what they hear or what they do, can only be affected by themselves.

Words matter very little if you don't acknowledge them, after all, being called trash, a disappointment, or a waste of space will only affect someone if they let it.

Similarly, the only one who can torment the boy is himself, hence why he managed to 'crack' his own mind and why the Ogre can't permanently kill him.

Because he's not letting it affect him, because he evolved, breaking through his own mind to become something more.

He broke.

And he'd be all the better for it.

That's why he got weaker on earlier attempts, because he allowed himself to be affected, then, later on, he came back to normal and stopped getting weaker precisely because he ignored it all.

And then he started getting tougher, the reason? Instead of actively ignoring the pain, the humiliation, and even his own thoughts the boy started to care less and less.

Oh, he still felt them, those things still reached him no matter how much he tried to not let them, he was still wounded by it all but instead of ignoring it, he started to fight against it.

Still... He acknowledged it and accepted everything as true, only fighting because he didn't want to go backwards.

Still... He did not move forward.

But now? Now he started to retort and counter everything thrown at him, his mind finally crystallizing enough to no longer pretend not to let those things affect him.

No, from there on they truly started to not matter.

To not be worthy of attention.

'I am a piece of shit? Who cares I won't be for much longer!' 'He is better than me? I can't reach him? Who said that?! I will do it anyway, try and stop me fucker!'

Fighting for survival? Acting solely for not wanting to be a piece of shit? No longer, no, no, no, now the boy fought for an entirely different reason.

To win.

And nothing else.

A fight, for fight's sake.

Because, at the end of the day, a fight between true fighters only occurs because both want to defeat the other, to win.

Win and nothing else.

And for wanting nothing but victory, he became stronger.

Oh, spite still fuelled his will no doubt about it but.

Now so did will itself.

Will fuelled by will, the purest desire to do something, just because he wants to, not caring about rules or limitations.

He said he will do it, so he will.

The same single sensation that moves Yuujirou Hanma, the single reason why he can be talking to a close friend one second, and punch through his heart the other.

Because he felt like it.

And now the boy had just that.

The [Will] to [Beat] the [Strongest Creature] just because he felt like it.

It doesn't matter if it is impossible, it doesn't matter if he knows he can't do it, it doesn't matter if the result is a foregone conclusion.

He will do it anyway, because he wants to, no further explanation is needed.

No, there is an explanation, a single desire all men had one day in their lives, 'To become the strongest' and be able to do anything they want.

Desire in its purest form, ambition, and will beyond most mortal men.

He reached the point where any fight, in the material world or in the spiritual one would not be decided by strength but by will.

Their soul against their opponents, a fight for fighting sake and nothing else.

In short, he reached the apse, the most pure form of a fight.

He broke through a wall most living beings don't even know exists, one even he didn't know existed before today.

In the material world, matter controls the mind, a rule so powerful almost all living creatures never manage to surpass, or worse, never try to.

0.000000001335% of the total world population, roughly 100 people, this is the number of humans that managed to achieve what the boy just did.

Mind over matter.

The power to alter the [Self] with the [Will] of the [Soul], a power he was not aware affected him in the past, but one he understands in more depth now.

It was weak, ridiculously so, but it was enough for a start.

The power itself couldn't quite yet ignore the laws of physics but it could grow to one day do just that, because if there is something he came to understand this day is that the soul is incredibly individualistic and self-reliant.

It wouldn't give power for free, similarly, despite its gigantic potential it wasn't born all-powerful, no, it had to grow to that point.

Just as the body evolves via [Will] so does the soul.

If there is a God out there, it certainly dislikes the concept of 'limits'.

For example, his weight, 120 kilos, no matter even if he was made out of diamonds he should never have the strength he has now.

But he does.

His weight never changed for years and yet, after each year he is able to decimate his past self.

How?

If his mass stays the same, how does he get stronger? It is believable that his muscles, skin, and bones grow tougher, but even if they become as durable as diamonds their strength still won't grow to that point.

One thing that he deduced based on the Boy's thoughts during all of his deaths is that the soul has Extreme difficulty in altering anything outside the body.

Hell even he can't do it, not even his father as a matter of fact, and that man is an absolute monster.

Oh sure, he shook an entire city block just by getting angry but he didn't alter anything, that was the sole fault of kinetic energy being produced by his tensed muscles and being spread through the building and then directly to the ground.

F = m X a In other words Force (F) equals mass (m) multiplied by acceleration (a) and as he thought before the soul needs to have an absurd amount of power to alter anything beyond the body.

So much so in fact not even Yuujirou Hanma can hope to do it, so how can people like him hit as hard as falling meteors while weighing just 120kg?

A workaround, this is the conclusion he arrived in.

The soul is the fuel to the body, meat, no matter how nutritious can't keep up with the needs of a superhuman capable of dishing out country-bursting attacks.

He'd die of hunger if that were the case.

So, there needs to be another source of power, one capable of turning energy into matter to fill the body.

And so another mystery of the soul is revealed.

The ability to turn emotions, completely Spiritual and Conceptual forces Like Will, Passion, and Determination into physical matter.

In dumber words for those less gifted, it is a potential perpetual motion machine that works on things as unclear as feelings.

For fucks sake if the original discovers this shit he will be able to crack planets while laughing.

He knows he would reveal the secret just to get more opponents, to get a true fight against someone who fully wanted to kill him, and had the power to do it.

How far would Baki evolve if he knew, Doppo, Oliva? Pickle? Hnayama? or even that guy, Kaku Kaioh?

The old fuck would probably make himself immortal, similar to that guy, Spec, but far, far better.

He smiled.

'Immortality hmm? It doesn't appear to be as far-fetched as I first thought.'

With an infinite lifespan, the only way to die would be by getting killed, no... Perhaps, not even that.

Humming dashed forward and he grabbed the boy's neck, lifting him easily.

If his father's disembodied soul is any indication someone above him should theoretically be able to birth themselves on the material world again.

If the soul can turn energy into matter then rebuilding a body by summoning the soul into the physical world should be possible.

Gripping his head with both hands he slowly crushed the boy's skull, seeing his eye explode out of his skull stopped being fun a while ago, briefly, he noted how he didn't scream his time.

Just grunts of pain this time, good, he's still evolving.

Crack!

Leaving the body on the ground he turned around and started to walk in circles, this little puzzle became much more entertaining than he thought possible.

If the demonic smile he wore on his face was any indication he'd dare say it was fun.

But then again, everything related to gaining more strength normally is.

Really, he found the golden goose while searching for a thief, how much does this universe love him?!

"HahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Controlling his laugh he forced himself to go back to his previous thoughts.

He believes that the soul has the ability to create some sort of 'phantom mass' that while not affecting the material world it can do so in certain moments.

Moments controlled exclusively by one's will, more specifically, the exact moment a punch connects with their target.

The absurdity isn't lost on him.

If converting 15 kilotons of energy into matter results in the creation of approximately 7.0 milligrams of mass then the soul is either efficient beyond possible, or it is more powerful than anything in the material plane.

Of course, there is the chance of the soul being able to simply summon some kind of contained explosive energy that detonates in a very limited area at the time of impact but he doesn't think it's that.

50 megatons, the wield of the strongest bomb created by humanity, capable of wiping cities from the map in seconds.

And he, a man with 1,90 meters and 120 kilos can surpass that by orders of magnitude.

400 teratons, the maximum strength the original can release with a single punch while using the Demon back, enough force to break. countries apart.

8,000,000 times stronger than the Tsar Bomba.

Before he believed that he didn't need to make sense to have his strength, laws of physics? Something easily ignorable, but now? Knowing the power of the soul? It stung to admit it but he knows for sure he does not have enough will to simply ignore them.

If that were the case he'd already be running past the speed of light, and if that happened, if he managed to pass through that unfathomable wall then his strength would truly be infinite.

Because with the ability to ignore the basic rules of the universe, nothing more would be able to stop him.

Calling him 'god' in the truest sense of the word would not be an exaggeration.

Many consider him an arrogant man, and to some extent they are right, but something he absolutely is not, is someone who overestimates himself.

He knows his limits, he works to break them each day after all, and he sure as hell knows he can't ignore the laws of physics.

Even as strong as he is, in both body, mind, and soul he knows that to reach this point he'll need more than a lifetime, considering how long Hanmas live, and the potential for an eternal life that is saying something.

His strength makes no sense, none at all, he wouldn't give a shit or think about it in the past but now, it bothers him immensity.

That fucker's thoughts are now tormenting him with unanswered questions.

His moving and punching speed is roughly around mach 219,295 two-thirds of the speed of light, something achievable only with his demon back.

Even then. Even. Then. His arm would need to weigh 471,590 tons to exercise the force necessary to generate 400 teratons of force.

Something that as far as he knows, is not the case.

Even more, as Kaku Kaioh proved with his technique speed is not necessary to deliver such attacks.

Dare he say if he trained toward this objective, punching at two-thirds of the speed of light or at the velocity of a slug would make no difference in relation to the power resultant from the attack.

He... Was really gaslighting himself with that 'powers don't exist' talk wasn't he?

How the fuck did he not see that before?

"Haaaa!"

Suddenly the boy attacked him, punching with all his strength he hit his stomach, doing absolutely nothing.

"How many times?"

The boy asked in a deep voice.

"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU KILLED ME OGRE?!"

His face contorted into a stupefied expression, only to slowly morph into one of pure glee.

"haha...hahaha...HaHaHaHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Laughing hysterically he closed his fist, and punched the boy's face with the back of his hand.

This time however something different happened, acting rapidly the boy ducked, letting the fist pass above him he took an impulse and jumped, punching the Ogre's chin with all his strength.

Crack!

The boy's fist hit true, and broke as if hitting a wall of titanium.

Acting with speed, dexterity, and strength far surpassing his physical body the boy kicked the Ogre's chest.

Thump*

Only to be pushed away by his own attack.

"Answer me!"

The Ogre did not, instead of even acknowledging his words the strongest creature dashed forward at such speed he seemed to teleport in front of him.

Then, his vision suddenly turned blurry as pain surged from his stomach, he did not need to look down to see the Ogre's feet planted on his balls.

His soul fell directly to the ground as he held his pelvis with all his strength, getting shot would most likely hurt less than this.

The Ogre on the other hand simply put his feet down and kept smiling.

Now he understands it, why the boy kept forgetting, he was imitating a fucking pangolin.

"Ufu" He had to hold his jaw shut to avoid bursting out in laughter.

When threatened, Panholins roll into a tight ball, protecting their underbelly with their tough, overlapping scales.

In other words, they act like weaklings and just take it.

Just like the boy did for the first 277 deaths.

Oh, he punched back, but not because he wanted to live, or even just to show some defiance, no, he attacked because of spite and hate, directed into himself, not the Ogre.

But... that changed, he stopped just taking it, he stopped fighting back just because he felt he should.

Now he fought because he wanted to win, because he wanted to kill the Ogre.

If before he fought out of instinct, now he fought because he wanted to.

To what? Win of course.

And to win someone needs to risk something.

If before he got tougher each time he came back from the beatings, now he came back stronger from the recovery of each fight.

Because now he didn't want to just take it and walk away, now he wanted to take it and give it back.

"HAAAAAA!"

Dean dashed forward and punched once again, lessons from years ago serving for something as his posture stood balanced, not perfect but far from imperfect.

With a smile on his face, the Ogre opened his right palm as if he were greeting a friend.

Just as Dean punched, the Ogre moved his hand, blocking the hit completely.

Pain shot from Dean's fist as he felt his bones crack under the impact against a soul that felt more like titanium.

Ignoring it he quickly kicked the Ogre's left leg, only to once again, be stopped dead in his tracks, pain surging from his feet at the powerful impact.

Left, right, kick, knee, punch, elbow, hook, uppercut, headbutt, Dean attacked with all his miserable strength as the Ogre simply stood there with a mocking smile.

His attacks were ineffective, no even less than that, they were nothing but hindrances as each successful hit only wounded him more and more.

It was as if he was punching himself.

Trowing another kick he hit the ogre's chin.

Crack!

Only for his toes to break.

Planting his feet on the ground he used the impulse of his leg to throw a punch at the Ogre's ribs.

A short of pain surged from his broken toes, he ignored it and continued to attack.

Seconds passed as his mind went hasty, he didn't know when it happened but he started to feel something on his fists.

Turning his eye toward his right hand he looked at the weird red liquid, it covered everything from his fists to the Ogre's, wait... Is this what forced him to close his left eye?

It dripped down, slowly, from both his hand and the Ogre's, how... How long had he been attacking?

For that matter since when did he start bleeding? He... Doesn't have a body, he shouldn't be able to bleed.

What is happening? No, wait... he knows what's happening.

His soul... It's, becoming more and more like his physical body.

He couldn't remember it, but he felt it, felt that on all his forgotten deaths, he had never bled before, never attacked with so much ferocity before.

Never felt the need to win before.

BOOM!

Blood forcibly shot out from his mouth together with vomit, his body shot backward as a familiar sensation took hold of his chest.

Even while his world turned into a blurred mess he couldn't help but think about what had happened before he entered this white space.

The punch, It was the same, the same strength and speed as the one the blue blur had given.

Even the same target area.

Planting his fingers down he managed to stop his uncontrollable spin and stood there, breathing heavily.

"Ugk"

With shaking limbs, he slowly lifted himself as a pool of blood formed below him.

"Still breathing? Good, at least now you won't die in a single minute if that blue thing hits you again, maybe you can make it to 10."

Ignoring the Ogre's words he looked at his chest, and as he expected a horrendous bruise adorned it.

It was disgusting, the white, transparent skin disappeared in its place stood what could only be described as a slump of meat.

All he could compare it to was a shotgun would, a point-blank one that for some miracle didn't manage to go below the muscles, but that shredded everything else.

His heart beat quicker in his chest at the sight, still... He felt a weird sensation... Pride.

The wound, although horrible still isn't as bad as the one the Blue blur gave him, for one, his bones aren't exposed, nor his heart, and although he can feel that his bones had broken he didn't feel any of them piercing his organs.

Fear, panic, horror, perhaps he should have been feeling one of these things, maybe all of them but... All he could feel was pride.

He did it, after years upon years of going backwards or nowhere at all he finally, finally took a step forward.

He did not say he would take a step forward, he did not think he'd take a step forward, no, he did it.

He. Did. It.

And at the end of the day that is all that ever matters, what you do, not what you think.

Tears fell from his face, with the screeching pain still in his chest he stood tall, put his guard up, looked directly at Yuujirou Hanma's eyes, and smiled.

The man returned the gesture.

"Don't break too easily now boy."

With that, both warriors calmly walked forward.

The Hanma with his hands in his pockets.

The Tyronus with his guard up.

⏚⟒ ⍙⟒⌰⌰

The world shook as a titanic voice reverberated through everything, unable to keep his balance Starfield fell, the ogre meanwhile stood still, looking upward with a serious expression.

Raising a brow at the Ogre's action Starfield looked at the same place the Strongest Creature stared at.

And promptly lost his breath at the sight.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

'A horse?' The ogre thought before the Creature's face contorted into one of rage and advanced towards him.

⌰⟒⏃⎐⟒ ⏁⊑⟟⌇ ⏚⍜⎅⊬ ⎅⟒⋔⍜⋏!

Feeling the pressure around him the Ogre quickly lifted his arms he released the full power of his aura, his hair started to float as his eyes turned black with a sinister yellow glow.

His clothes burst apart as his back muscles changed to form the shape of a smiling demon.

He held no delusions.

It wouldn't be enough.

It's strong, insanely strong, more than him, more than Baki, and more than even his father put together.

And it wants him dead.

"Efu~" He laughed lightly, how long has it been?

Since he felt the cold hands of death gripping his throat?

It didn't matter anyway, this... This would be a good fight.

Perhaps it was karma? He killed the boy so many times and now the creature would do the same to him?

No, who is he kidding, if that thing doesn't have a way to put him down permanently he'll eat his heart out.

Smiling wider he closed his fist, put his arm behind him, and prepared to launch his strongest punch.

BOOM!

Only to freeze as the boy, with a speed far surpassing any of his previous feats, punched the creature's face.

CRACK!

Ssssss~

And promptly did nothing to it.

The smell of burning flesh permeated through the air as all inside the White space stood frozen.

The Ogre with an amused grin.

The boy with rage-filled eyes.

The creature with a shocked expression.

Its eyes glowing with white light made it impossible for any to see its pupils, even still, like a chicken being stared at by a wolf, Tyronus knew it turned its eyes toward him.

And for one single second, after recognizing its aura, he regretted having punched it.

THUMP!

THUMP!!

THUMP!!!

Instinctively he wanted to avert his eyes, to turn his head down and hope that it ignored him.

His soul trembled.

He wanted to run.

He almost did so before noticing something.

In the corner of his vision, he caught a glimpse of something red.

Involuntarily he looked at it.

And there he saw it.

The Ogre looking at him with an amused expression, in his mind however, he couldn't help but see it as a mocking one.

His thoughts on the strongest creature were paradoxical, for one, he hated him, for the other, he was perhaps the person he most admired.

And one he did not want to disappoint.

The next moment, with his heart still almost beating out of his mouth, he forced himself to stand his ground.

With narrowed eyes, he kept staring at the being in front of him, completely ignoring the pain of his burnt and broken fist.

The creature on the other hand simply moved, taking its undamaged cheek out of his fist and turning to fully look at him.

It was slightly taller than him 1,70 maybe 1,75 meters tall its horn however made it stand at roughly 1,95.

None of it mattered however as standing in front of it made him feel like a particularly small rat.

The creature, with its white eyes, flaming with sheer, uncontrollable power stared him down.

Its hair and tail sat ablaze with a fire that could only be described as unnatural, just like his soul has the form of a human but is anything but so is the flame.

Its power pressed down on him, he had the feeling it wasn't doing it on purpose, and through it, he could feel, the same power that pressed down on him the moment he arrived at that planet.

The sun.

This thing... Is the sun.

And It could do it, what even Yuujirou Hanma could not.

Destroy his soul.

Suddenly the creature turned her, yes, her, because it couldn't be anything but.

He felt no attraction towards her, no, if he had to compare it to something it would be when one sees a painting, and admires its beauty, the work of the artist to have done something so incredible to the point mere paint could make one cry.

Ignoring his musings the creature turned her head toward the Ogre and prepared to pounce.

With courage he certainly didn't have Starfield dashed forward and stood between the Sun Equine and Yuujirou.

His arms, even while trembling moved up to form his guard.

Glaring at her eyes, and trying desperately to control his shaking body, he spoke with a level of seriousness that surprised even him.

"Don't intervene you Golden fuck."

The creature reeled back as if struck, its eyes widening in surprise, only to quickly turn into... Worry? As it stared at him.

At the back of his mind, Tyronus noted how the wound in his chest started to burn.

With warmth-filled eyes, she opened her wings and slowly closed them on him.

Humans... Super or not, have limits, and Dean is no exception to that.

He can face the threat of non-existence, he can face Yuujirou Hanma, he can even stare down a tiger without pissing his pants.

What he cannot do however is stand his ground while what he could only describe as Divine approached him.

For some damn reason, the thing gave him an unreasonable amount of fear, he stared down the threat of non-existence, no matter how powerful the Equine creature shouldn't be able to frighten him so much.

Yet it did just that.

Faster than he thought he could move he jumped back, dodging the creature's attempt at grabbing/hugging? Him.

"Oi back away!" He shouted in what he hoped wasn't a desperate voice.

The creature frowned, a second later it exploded into a golden mist and rapidly approached him.

"I said BACK. AWAY!"

Throwing a wild punch at the thing Dean's fist simply went through it without any resistance.

Suddenly he felt a familiar feeling, of something alien entering his body.

'NonononononononoNO!'

Moving desperately he tried to pointlessly sweep the mist away, slaps, swings, punches, and kicks, nothing worked.

All he could do was struggle helplessly as the mist entered his body.

His panic was so great he didn't notice the wound on his chest slowly disappearing.

From the sideline, the Ogre watched with a gigantic smile.

He stared as the pig continued to fight the golden light, it kept losing, it was a hopeless fight, a pointless fight, it knew it too, but it kept resisting.

This pig isn't quite as pathetic as it first appeared.

With a demonic smile, the Ogre lost all sense of control, lifting his arms he exploded in red light, warping the space around him with power, and shouted at the top of his non-existent lungs.

"Go little pig! Grow fat! Big! STRONG! Dream of becoming a tiger! Dream of becoming a dragon! And one day, when you believe yourself ready, come to me, and be devoured."

Smiling the ogre's shard turned around and walked away, it was in a good mood.

Determination is all the pig will need to become a dragon.

His smile widened even more as a amusing thought came to his mind.

"If you manage to last that long Wah Ha Ha HA HA HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

_____________________________________________________

⏚⟒ ⍙⟒⌰⌰= Be well

⌰⟒⏃⎐⟒ ⏁⊑⟟⌇ ⏚⍜⎅⊬ ⎅⟒⋔⍜⋏! = Leave this body demon!